Rhubix: Once I got back to work from my month off I barely drew agh! I have done loads since though!

tazpeter: I'm still unsure how. I try every now and then and its slowly coming. If you have any tips though I would take them appreciatively! You are right to notice I really don't know how to actually "create"

Ok here is a big art dump in particular order arranged in no particular way. Please note that most of it is COPIES either from masters or photos or books but I just sketched them in my "digital sketchbook" so I have no kept track of sources but many should be obvious.

wow this is some serious business going down in here! with this kind of hard work you cannot fail. dont forget its ok to take time out for miniproject ideas that come to you on the fly tho, they can be a lot of fun and a handy way to try out your new abilities. youre building muscle, both literally in terms of the control of your hand, and in your mind. i also like how youre taking on many different things, all of them difficult and important; people, anatomy, objects, industrial design. its impressive!

Hey thanks allot for stopping by my sketchbook! Your have some solid foundations so far! Just keep pushing it. Your works from when you were off work for a month were really awesome to look at. It sucks having to work and train for this field. I couldn't do it when i was working full time. I'm so grateful i cut down to a part-time job. Wouldn't be possible if i didn't have the support from my wife though, it can be hard making it in this world with pilling bills. Sometimes working part-time is not an option, just keep pushing it! Your making great progress

Rather than critique any one drawing or illustration, I'd prefer to just give you some general advice, Whirly. First of all, There is no point in just copying illustrations out of drawing manuals or whatever. None at all. I find that this is something that is not stressed enough by art schools/teachers in general. What is important is that you learn the procedure that the artists that you admire are using and then practice using it yourself. Whether you practice their procedure by drawing from their drawings, drawing from the old masters, drawing from life, or drawing from imagination is irrelevant because the one common link between all of those things is the procedure and that never changes. In fact, I would recommend drawing more from imagination than otherwise while you're still learning because using reference will only confuse a beginner as they will instinctively try to copy what they see which, as I mentioned before, is pointless.

I cant speak for others but, as far as I understand it, even when drawing from reference, a classically trained artist is still primarily drawing from imagination. They are only "using" the reference as a source of visual information. Of course, the more accurate you can be, the better, but accuracy isn't necessarily what makes the drawing good. It is the foundational drawing skills which must be apparent in your work that make it good and you don't even need a model to be good at those. That is another reason I recommend drawing from imagination over drawing from reference for inexperienced artists. When drawing from imagination, you have nothing to rely on but your own knowledge of design, composition, anatomy, how light falls on form, perspective, etc. and you are forced to focus on nothing but your procedure which means you will inevitably get better at the process of creating art. Of course you are also limited by how much you know. As I wrote, this is about mastering the basics. For the record, 99% of the stuff in my sketchbook is drawn from imagination.

Once an artist has a very strong handle on the basics then of course he can use reference. Just remember that the procedure does not, I repeat, DOES NOT change. You draw from reference the exact same way you draw from imagination. There are many reasons for this but the primary one, in my opinion, truly is rooted in classical idealism, that is composition. An artist is composing a drawing. This means that he is orchestrating all of its elements together, deliberately, towards a singular purpose. You could call this rhythm. A figure drawing is itself, a composition, no different than a massive scene such as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The only difference, and I mean only, is that the subject is just one figure instead of a plethora of different things. The orchestration and compositional elements are all the same no matter how many things are in scene. The idea of composition and idealism is more of less universal in classical artwork. That is why a well done figure drawing is proof of an artist's mastery. If you can draw one figure this way, it is proof that you understand composition which is, in my opinion, drawing itself. Drawing is composition.

It is very difficult to communicate what I'm trying to say through text alone since drawing is a visual medium so I'd recommend looking at classical artwork from the high Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, and Rococo periods specifically and studying very closely how these grand, massive compositions were orchestrated. It is that composition that is important to comprehend. The way it all works and flows together. Then go back and look very carefully at single figure drawings by skilled artists (I recommend animators like Michael D. Mattesi or Glen Keene in this particular instance because their use of rhythm is highly apparent and exaggerated as opposed to someone like Vilppu who is more subtle) and seeing how a single figure drawing is approached the exact same way as those big, classical paintings. The idea of orchestrating the composition of the drawing is exactly the same.

I'm sorry for leaving such a long comment and I hope you find any of it useful. As I wrote, it is tough just describing something in art since it is a visual thing. Good luck to you.

Sometimes you need a bit of a break - particularly after a marathon!! It helps all the learning sink in.
Your latest post is looking slick - your volumes have really improved. Personally,

I generally have to disagree with Sir Cam. I don't see any harm in working from manuals. The important part is learning your fundamentals - it doesn't really matter how you get there. If you show a care for structure as you work from reference, it can be incredibly valuable.

Drawing more from imagination when your learning doesn't make sense. We should draw from life. It would be much more difficult to learn how the arm moves- how it connects to the scapulae and how that moves across the ribcage by using your imagination. It's much easier to grab a bridgeman book- or look at a person and watch how it works - preferably both.
There's no 'procedure' -there's no right way to learn how to draw.

Drawing is composition. - I really don't think drawing can be summed up so easily. Drawing is structure, drawing is gesture, story, idea. Composition is one aspect of drawing.

Foundational skills are tools to help you create what you want to create. Learning is a process, and procedure is bordering on formula. The second you think you found the "Right way" you will stop learning.

You just have to be interested- keep learning- keep exploring. Maybe some things will help you, maybe others won't as much. It's the journey that's important because you will never ever be done learning. And when you are- you might as well take up something else.

Sir Cam: Lots of fantastic advice although I dont think I agree with everything. Just from experience copying (and more especially copying until I can draw it from memory) artists works has proven to be incredibly helpful. Especially so in life drawing where for example I can be looking at someones shoulder and I remember the lines Hogarth or whoever put down and can see them on the model and draw them myself from the pose. Pros know which things to look for and its another step to try and see what they see.

Rhubix: Thanks so much! Really taking your words to heart

So I Drawing on and off, but after this post it will be proper full time focused study as I am now working part time rather than full time especially to study drawing!! A lot of this was done at 3am laying in bed on tablet pc unable to sleep and tired.

Wow, it's been a while, and your progress is nuts. All your structural drawing is excellent, and the car!! The car is fantastic. Your constructive anatomy's looking really good too, I think Bridgman goes really well with the kind of style you're working at right now. I don't even have any crit, just keep doing what you're doing, it's clearly working out really well for you. =D

My year out to study was delayed by a month or so but its on its way now!!!!

I am easing myself in with something comfortable with Prokos preium figure drawing course. Its superb and I highly recommend it. Despite this my year really really really needs to be dominated by ACCURATE STILL LIVES, PROPER MASTER STUDIES,EVERYTHING IN SCOTT ROBERTSONS BOOK, FINALLY GOING OUT TO MUSEUMS AND DRAWING EVERYTHING! Also tried to nail Steve Huston's lay-in since I really like it and find it nice to work with as opposed to the others I have tried like Loomis.

As I said though easing myself in since still lives still instill that instant dread like going to the dentist.

So I bought a Cintiq Companion. To say I am super happy with it would be an understatement!! Had it for a week and haven't touched my cintiq 21 or intuos or samsung tablet pc since. Its changed everything!

Anyway here are some studies studies studies!! Going to re do that still live man did that go wrong. The lady is a 3D scan I lit myself in a 3D package and then painted a study of.

Nice study! It's difficult to try and understand what the original artist was actually thinking when trying to mimic strokes. It makes me wonder just how many occurrences of "happy accidents" vs intentionality's there actually are

Hey Whirly, thanks for stopping by my SB! Your figure studies are coming along nicely and I can see improvement in your proportions and line quality. It's also nice to see such a focus on constructive/analytical anatomy.

I must echo back to a critique on page 10 however, and I would sincerely urge you to spend at least some time drawing the figure from imagination even if it simple a nude or lightly clothed character. It's something I had/have a particularly bad habit of not doing but it will help you a lot to drop the reference once and a while. You'll develop a more refined and personal process for the figure and without reference you'll be more aware of your problem areas with the figure. Applying my studies is something I wish I had done more of.

Chroma: Thanks man! actually most of my drawings are figures from imagination. Its my mindless doodle comfort zone. Mostly scribbly messy stuff when I'm at work or failing to sleep. Here are today's crap (you can see why I dont bother posting it but believe it or not they are constantly getting better)